Review: 7979 Castle Advent Calendar (First Look)

[brickbitz]

So S@H delivered the goods today and I literally couldn't wait until December so here you are.

First off the instructions in two parts.

With a total of nine figures there are 5 "good guys" including the jester and the maiden. You also get two knights and a dwarf. Nice to see lots of different accessories for these figures. The jester is great, I never picked up a "Harley Quinn" figure , so this is the first time I've really seen the hat.

The "bad guys" consist of 2 skeletons, a troll and the witch.

Assorted weaponry for both sides, there are plenty of weapons included in this set.

General Castle goodies. It's nice to see buckets , cauldrons, food , a table with gold goblet and plate.

The rest of the bits, including a mine cart for the dwarf, a rock with a jewel, plus assorted animals.

There are also the usual small pieces spare as is common with these sets, nothing special though.

In summary this is simply a must buy for all Castle fans, and even those who aren't into Castle can probably find a use for most of the accessories anyway.

Definitely a 10/10 from me.

Edited September 20, 2008 by KimT
Indexed and poll added

[The Cobra]

I like it. I was 99% willing to buy it, and now I'm 100%.

[Guss]

Oo there is a lot of cool things in it ... I'll give it 10/10 too

[metalandi]

Great stuff in there, it really fills my expecatins now. Already pre-ordered it several weeks ago, can't wait to get it. Not sure yet if i open the doors in order or all at once though

[DJ Force]

that´s an excellent set! Best advent calendar ever, I would say!

Definetly will be getting this! At least once ;)

[Fluyt]

This is a great set. Glad we get 2 knights with printed torso, and not 1 printed and 1 unprinted+armour. I really like the jester, maiden and witch

Only 2 things I wish where different: The other type of dwarf beard in earth/dark orange, and I would have preferred an orc shield instead of a skeleton one.

(+I don't really care about the 2 skeletons, a wizard and a peasant would be more usefull to me, but at least now all factions are represented)

Edited September 11, 2008 by Fluyt

[Lego12]

That is wonderful! Some great little pieces for MOC's! I the cauldron, the witch, the jester, the animals, and the maid! I give this a 10/10!

Is this going to come out in the US? I hope so.....otherwise I'm going to have to have a talk with TLC.....

[Manta]

That is awesome. If I were to get this set, I probably wouldn't be able to wait until Christmas...

[meschepers]

Well, that's pretty cool. I was going to get this set anyway (via a friend in Europe). The one thing I am disappointed about is that there is no king... I saw a set of pictures that showed the king in them and I was hoping that he would be in this. Oh well. I guess I will go to BrickLink for him.

[Pencoin]

I shall get .

[Holodoc]

Thank you for the first complete pics, Brickbiz!

Can you tell something about the size and the weight of the box (including the bricks of course )?

[Athos]

Does the dwarf come with a beard?

Steve

[MoWo]

Must Buy!!

If I can get one....

Undersigned MoWo

[randomparrot]

We're they in random boxes or in order.

[KimT]

We're they in random boxes or in order.

Nope.

Nothing random about 24 individual packs...or at lest they're not to my knowledge

I believe they're marked with numbers from 1-24.

You open one small room in the box each day as you're closing in on the 24th of December

[QuartermasterRobert]

That maiden is wonderful! I could really use her. The other figures are good too.

[brickbitz]

Can you tell something about the size and the weight of the box (including the bricks of course )?

Sorry in my excitement, the box has all been cut up for the pictures and I have no idea of the weight.

Does the dwarf come with a beard?

Steve

Yep, the black one in the picture

[badboytje88]

Everytime before I buy a set I make a check list of nice parts, and reasons to buy the set. If a set is pricey, it needs lots of positive things/good parts before I buy it. Thought I'd chare my checklist with you guys:

Nice parts:

Lots of weapons!

Maiden

Witch

Frowg, can't have enough of those

Jester, he looks so happy

1 semi new face for one of the knights

Dwarfbeard, short legs, and golden helmet, ah heck the whole dwarf minifig is cool!

Gems

Food

Indiana Jones krates

Big brown barrel, sceams bathtub to me

Golden plates and cups

Orc

Black skellie, his head is great for Harry Potters death eaters

Did I mention the weapons?

Oh and it's way cheap. You get 9 figs in one set!

[Sandy]

I still think the figures are awesome, but I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed about the other stuff included in the set. There are surely great individual parts, but the constructions are really small and simple and even somewhat lackluster in my opinion. Compared to what this year's City Advent Calendar includes, these items look really minuscule.

And where's the Christmas Spirit?! Sure, there's snow on the playmat, but that's about it. There's nothing special for the 24th day, either.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still get this set as soon as possible, but I guess I just expected something more from it.

[Manta]

I want this set so bad!!! I think this set is awesome, and would make me really happy come December. I might just buy it.

[Brainbox]

I need to get this. It'll be something a bit different from the City one I've had for the past few years (although this year's City calendar is miles better than last year's). The figures are neat, and the accessories aren't too bad either. Sure, some of the days look a little sparse piece-wise, but never mind. I mean, at least it's available here...

[maiq the liar]

Well, i'm so glad we're getting this in the... :|

anyway, this review makes me want it more...

[iamded]

Oh, sweet! Thanks for the review, brickbitz! This is looking great, the animals and food are the real bonuses for me. And of course, we can't forget the catapult...

~Peace

[ptdapen]

I like all of the minifigures, and the other things are alright, and some of them are just overly simple. Thanks for giving this review, its helped me decide that I would buy this if it came out in North America, just a hope of mine, but in my opinion, it doesn't seem worth it for me to send this overseas and do all those things like customs. Hopefully next year we will get the maiden, jester, and the witch in other sets.

[Batbrick]

Thanks for the review! I love this despite earlier scares, so I'll be sure to try and get this sometime.

Batbrick Away!